Antique Photo Album... Welcome to the 33rd Metamorphosis Monday!

My Met Monday post for today is a "reverse" Met Monday. I'm showing you the "After" first...then I'll show you the "Before." :-)

I came across this old, old Victorian style picture album around 20 years ago. I believe it may date back to the late 1800's. If you have any information about these type albums, please share it in your comment. I'd love to know more about them but have found very little information online.

When I found this wonderful old velvet covered album, I fell in love with it. It was in a run down, old house that sat just barely off the road of a busy Georgia state highway...waaay out in the country. I had just completed an appointment for work and was headed back to the "big city," when the "Antiques for Sale" sign caught my eye as I whizzed by in my car. Not being able to resist, I turned around and headed back.

The man inside the old house made me a great deal, only $40. I was thrilled since it was chocked full of wonderful old photos. When I'd stumbled on these albums in the past, they were usually more expensive and empty. I've since collected one more and I do so love to look through them.

This album looks as if it may have been a wedding gift for a newly married couple. The front shows a bell with a small mirror (maybe a wedding bell?) and a horse shoe with the words, "Good Luck."




Here's a little close-up pic of the top. Now you may be wondering where the "before and after" is in this post. Well, so far you've seen the after pics...the pics of what time and use will do to the exterior of a lovely, old, velvet, picture album. What if we could go back in time and see it when it was brand new.




Step into my time machine...and take a look at the before. The album opens up by unlatching the side and flipping the album downward onto a surface. There's a much larger mirror inside. See the beautiful, green velvet...that's what the whole album would have looked like when it was new...I'm guessing back in the 1800's.




Close-up of the interior velvet that has been protected from the elements. Old houses used to be very, very dusty inside. Windows were left open for cooling and the roads weren't always paved. It was a full time job trying to keep the home swept and dusted.




Both of the old albums I've collected are full of wonderful, old photos. I will do a post sometime in the future showing lots of pics from both albums. I love seeing the dresses and hats...along with the hairstyles.




A few of the pics from this album...notice in the pic below, the man is sitting while the woman is standing.




Look at her hair, her gorgeous blouse and that tiny waist!




Again, in the pic below, the man is sitting while the woman is standing...wonder why? I've noticed it's always this way in the pics depicting a couple. What do you think the occasion was for this photo? Maybe an anniversary...or do you think it was a wedding photo?




Do you like collecting the old photographs or albums? They are like little time capsules, giving us a glimpse of the past.

Looking forward to seeing your Before and After!



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